Protesters at Harvard Club Blast Portugese in Angola

Fifty demonstrators picketed the Harvard Club of Boston for one and one-half hours Saturday night to protest Portuguese colonialism in Africa.

The demonstrators--members of the African Research Group and HR New American Movement--circulated outside the Club, located at 374 Commonwelath Ave., while the Archbishop of Boston was inside receiving the Military Order of Christ from the Portuguese Ambassador to the United States.

Four hundred people attended the dinner in honor of Archbishop Humberto Medeiros, who was born in Portugal. The program said the Order was conferred because Medeiros "has attained unique distinction as a humanitarian, scholar, theologian and as a Christian soldier working in behalf of the faith of the land of his birth."

The demonstrators claimed that the Catholic Church, along with corporations such as Gulf and other oil companies, supports the Portuguese repression of the independence movements in three colonies in Africa.

They intermittently chanted. "The Archbishop's Supporting War." "Your Cross is one of Racist Hate," and "Harvard Out of Gulf." Spectators from inside the club peered out at the picketers, and several of them came outside to vehemently argue with the demonstrators.

A Harvard Club spokesman said Saturday night that the dinner was held at the Club because the master of ceremonies. Dr. Manuel J. Correia-Branco, is a Club member.

Virtually all of the protesters were white, in contrast to previous demonstrations held by black students against Portuguese colonialism.

Four of them were young Portuguese citizens, who fled what they called the "fascist regime" in their country. They asked that their names be withheld for fear that the elite Portuguese PIDE-- International Police in Defense of the State--would uncover them.

They said that Portugal drafts all of its youth between the ages of 18-24 in order to keep its forces in Africa manned. "There is nothing like a Conscientious Objector deferrment," one said.

"The Portuguese papers contain daily reports of the wars in Africa," another of the youths said. "They report that the enemy is always being pushed back. The Africans are called 'bandits' and 'terrorists.' The papers report the number of bandit cows and barns that are burned."

One of the Portuguese had served several years ago with the Portuguese army in Gunea-Bissau, one of the three colonies. He said he saw napalm used on the Africans and described various atrocities he had witnessed. "The Portuguese soldiers are mostly poor peasants who are so patriotic they do these things," he explained.

Another of the youths said that the national press praises Mobile. Gulf and Shell Oil Companies. "These companies are praised because they are helping to overthrow the terrorists," he said. "People in Portugal are encouraged to buy from them because of this."

He added that the Catholic Church also supports the repression. "They say it is a crusade to civilize and Christianize the blacks," he said. "Before boarding the boats to Africa every batallion must take mass."

The Portuguese said that most of what antiwar sentiment exists is found in the colleges. They added that some of the soldiers have deserted the army and have formed an antiwar organization-- analogous to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War--that is based in Algeria and Sweden.